Sex can be one of the most enjoyable parts of your life. It may strengthen your relationship with your partner. It can also add excitement.
If you have a problem getting or keeping an erection, your sex life can suffer. You should know that you're not alone. In fact, more than half of all men over 40 have difficulties getting or maintaining an erection. This issue, also called erectile dysfunction (ED), occurs with younger men as well.
ED occurs when there is a lack of blood flow to the penis. This means that a man can have trouble getting and keeping an erection long enough to have sex. It may happen only once in awhile, or more often.
ED can happen at any age. It is usually caused by an underlying health problem. Heart disease and high blood pressure are two issues that can affect your blood flow—and lead to ED. But there are many others.
Looking for better sexual health? Be sure to get the right treatment. When you talk to your doctor about improving your erections, ask for a treatment that:
Always stopping for a bathroom visit? Frequent, strong, sudden urges to go are symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB).
The good news is that OAB is a real medical condition that can be treated.
Relief starts with a medicine that helps calm the bladder muscle that causes those frequent, sudden urges. Medication can relieve symptoms all day and all night.
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a real medical condition. With OAB, the bladder muscle squeezes too often or when you don't want it to.
Symptoms of OAB can occur day and night. They include:
Many people think that it's natural to develop these symptoms. They think it's just part of aging. But that's not true! OAB is not normal at any age. It's a real medical condition.
Approximately 300,000 people in Ireland (Milsom et al. "How Widespread are the Symptoms of OAB?" BJU. 2001;87: 760-766) have overactive bladder (OAB). So, even though you may feel like you're the only one dealing with the symptoms of OAB, remember—you are not alone.
OAB is a real medical condition. It affects both men and women. And it affects people of all ages, often starting in their 30s or 40s.
You do not need to suffer alone or worry about hiding the symptoms of OAB. There is proven treatment that can help.
Medication helps calm the bladder muscle that causes frequent, sudden urges to go to the bathroom. It can really help relieve symptoms all day and all night.
Overactive bladder (OAB) occurs when the bladder muscle is too active. This means that the muscle contracts, or squeezes, too often or when you don’t want it to. This can cause a strong, sudden urge to go even when the bladder isn't full.
OAB can affect anyone, at any age. In many cases, an exact cause cannot be found. However, sometimes OAB can be caused by:
Sometimes damage to the nerves of the bladder, to the nervous system (spinal cord and brain), or to the muscles themselves can cause the bladder muscle to contract, or squeeze, when you don’t want it to. For example, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, and injury can harm bladder nerves or muscles. Childbirth can also cause nerve damage that affects bladder control.
Some medicines such as pills to treat swelling or high blood pressure. In some men, frequent urination and wetting accidents may be caused by an enlarged prostate. But men can have OAB too—even without having an enlarged prostate. In fact, just about the same numbers of men suffer from OAB as women. If you are a man with OAB symptoms, talk to your doctor.
Although your healthcare professional will recommend the most appropriate treatment for your OAB, some of the options include:
You can strengthen the muscles supporting the bladder and urethra by performing pelvic floor muscle exercises. Toning these pelvic floor muscles can help support the bladder and reduce urgency and frequency episodes.
The aim of this exercise is to increase the length of time between your trips to the toilet. This involves changing your daily schedule of trips to the toilet over a period of weeks and months so that you are slowly building up the time between visits. For examples, if you are going to the toilet every 2 hours, try increasing the time of your next trip by 15 minutes and so on.
Limit your intake of food and drink that contain caffeine, as this causes the body to lose water. It is recommended that you avoid food and drinks that contain alcohol and sugar as they can often irritate the bladder. You should also drink normal amounts of fluids (particularly water) and eat a sensible diet in order to minimize constipation, a condition which can also aggravate your OAB.
Your doctor can prescribe medication to improve or reduce your symptoms of OAB